Ensign Jania Nis - One more cup of coffee
Jania Nis
(( Senior Officers Mess Hall, Deck 2, USS Octavia E Butler ))
The most important thing was coffee. She stumbled to put on her uniform one-handed in her half-dark communal bunk. In her other hand, she had a mug of piping hot coffee, which kept burning her every time she took a sip.
She had a meeting with Avander Promontory, first officer of the U.S.S. Octavia E Butler, and she was determined not to let her realize she'd been up all night.
It wasn't her fault--the I'Kiyo ring had proven to be a rough time for some of the crew, and a young ensign had had his hand bitten off by some sort of clam-person. While it sounded like the ensign deserved it, that didn't mean Jania had gotten a break.
She finished her coffee, which hit her stomach as she ran down the hallway toward the Mess Hall. The symbiont thrashed in annoyance at the presence of more caffeine; it, too, had wanted to sleep.
She rang the bell to the mess hall.
Promontory: Come!
Avander stood by a beautiful flower arrangement, his glorious dark-brown hair seeming to glow in front of them. He was a handsome man by any standards, and Jania suddenly wished she'd put on makeup, or done her hair, or done anything but rolled out of bed and chugged three-fifths of a liter of coffee before coming here.
Nis: Hello! We're super happy to be here!
As she straightened and stared at him with an awkward smile, the others arrived. It was at that moment she realized she was still holding her empty coffee mug.
Lahl/Caras: Response
Promontory: Welcome! Sit anywhere. We have the whole space reserved just for us!
Nis: Oh, wow, how impressive.
oO It's not impressive, it's just the mess hall. It's not like we're at Timorzin Lahl's old place or something. Oo
Jania gritted her teeth and ran her hand through her hair. She glanced at the current Lahl and smiled. She sat down and put her empty coffee cup in front of her.
Lahl/Caras: Response
After everyone had arrived and been seated, Avander waved his hands to the spread of hors d’oeuvres that was laid out on the main table.
Promontory: Dig in! After you have some food, maybe we could do formal introductions.
Free food had always been a weakness of Nis's, even before the symbiont was in Jania's body. And now that Nis was with Jania, they skipped meals constantly. Jania leaned forward and not-so-surreptitiously scooped a huge amount of guacamole onto her plate.
Lahl/Caras: Response
Nis: Oh, mhmph :: She swallowed and cleared her throat :: We mean, we're Jania Nis. I'm the . . . ::counting on her fingers :: ninth host of the Nis symbiont, and the first doctor. Two hosts ago, Nis and Lahl were . . . familiar. We were friends, right?
Lahl: Response.
Nis: Well, friends is how we remember it, anyway. it's a privilege to serve in Starfleet, and thank you for having us at this event. What else should we share?
Promontory: Response
Nis: Oh, well, you see, Nis's host before me was in an accident, and she . . . and she . . . :: Jania rubbed her mouth. :: She died in front of me. I was a little young at the time, but Nis would have died if I hadn't let it bond with me. And once we were together, we both thought, you know, we never wanted to see that kind of thing happen again. Because we think--it's not worth dwelling on this kind of thing, but maybe, had we known the right skills, we could have saved her. And now we do know the right skills. Anyway, what about you? How did you get into Starfleet?
Promontory: Response
Ensign Jania Nis
Medical Officer
USS Octavia E. Butler NCC-82850
O240108JN2